Bi xie jian (1981)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Cheh Chang

Writers:

Louis Cha (novel)
Cheh Chang (writer)

Release Date:

6 March 1981 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Wuxia Fiction | Based On Novel

Cast

Lien-hui Chang
Shen Chan	...	Chief of Lung Yau School
Kuo Chao
Hung Chen
Han Chiang
Sheng Chiang
Li Ching
Tiet Wo Chu		(as Tee Wor Chu)
Yu Hsiao
Kara Hui
Feng Kuan
Philip Kwok	...	Yuan Cheng-chih (as Kuo Chui)
Ming Lai
Sau Kei Lee
Yao-wen Liang
Chih Tai Lin
Feng Lu	...	Wen Nan-yang
Tien Hsiang Lung
Ching Ho Wang
Hua Wang
Li Wang
Lung Wei Wang
Tien Tsai Wei
Hsueh-erh Wen
Hang-Sheng Wu
Hsiang Lin Yin
Chih-yung Yuen
Tai Ping Yu

Also Known As:

Bik huet kim (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Sword Stained with Royal Blood (International: English title)

Runtime:

Hong Kong:104 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Shaw Brothers

Movie Connections:

Version of Xin bi xue jian (1993)

Wonderful fight scenes make up for a poorly thought out story line

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Well what do we have here? It looks like yet another adaption of SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD, only directed by Chang Cheh and Shaw Brothers studios. And who is this in the lead? Why it's none other than Phillip Kwok. And even better, Chiang Sheng and Lu Feng are on hand as younger clan leaders.

This probably doesn't sound that interesting if you don't know much about the kung fu troupe known as the "Venoms." These guys are awesome. Originally acrobats and Chinese opera performers, these dudes can move like nobody else. On top of that, they choreographed themselves and various other stunt actors that appeared in their movies. They got the nickname of "Venoms" due to their appearance in the classic FIVE DEADLY VENOMS, and went on to star in other classics, like CRIPPLED AVENGERS. Only two of the venoms are not acrobatics/opera trained, and those are Lo Meng, who was a master of Mantis Fist style boxing (he was also the most ripped Chinese actor around in the seventies), and Sun Chien, who had extensive experience in either Tae Kwon Do or Karate depending on who you ask. These two do not appear in this movie, as the focus is primarily on weapons combat, and they rarely did weapons fights in their movies.

This is also one of the last movies that Chang did at Shaw Bros. and it bears his trademark strengths and weaknesses. The biggest problem (in my opinion) is that there is never any doubt that Phillip Kwok will have any problem winning. The movie focuses entirely on him, and he is choreographed as well as set up by the narrative to out shine every single other actor available. To this end, nobody ever gets to see what Chiang Sheng and Lu Feng are capable of, as Kwok constantly outfoxes everyone without breaking a sweat. Underuse of the better villainous candidates is not quite as bad as the fact that Chang Cheh pulls the old girl dressed as a young boy gag. This is the most over used convention in all of Wuxia, it's really put to poor use here, in one bizarrely homo erotic scene where Phillip Kwok tries to sleep in the same bed as his "martial brother." On the other hand, this has great sword work and weapons fights. Lu Feng uses his favored weapon, the long handled sword (i.e. Kuan Dao). He is incredible with this weapon, and even though he has limited time, he leaves an impression. Chiang Sheng doesn't pull off as many athletic moves as he once did, but is impressive none the less. I also think he was as good an actor as any of the venoms ever got, and his performance, though subdued, is somewhat nuanced. One should take that with a grain of salt, as the script doesn't really allow for great acting. Also, the camera work, while perfectly adequate, is somewhat blah, especially for Chang Cheh. This man was once a pioneer, having made ONE ARMED SWORDSMAN and GOLDEN SWALLOW. He began using complicated camera movements, over head tracking shots during action sequences, hand held camera shots, and stylishly framed close ups of action highlights. In KILLER ARMY and MAGNIFICENT RUFFIANS, the dynamic camera work comes into perfect harmony with the dynamic choreography, not only enhancing the movement of the fights, but also showing off some of the incredible dexterity and timing required by the actors through the use of close ups and slow motion. There is none of that here, and it's a real shame, as this is some of the best choreography the Venoms did after 1980. The camera-work is mostly static, and without any interesting use of foreground objects or any other gimmicks.

Other than the bland camera, which is understandable as Chang Cheh must have really tired at this point in his career, SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD is a pretty cool flick. I can't say whether or not it will really get you to reach pinnacle Kung Fu bliss, but it certainly got this viewer there. Certainly is interesting to see the Venoms together in a straight wuxia, this is good for their fans as well as fans of Shaw Brothers and classy '80s wuxia movies.